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Interpreting Doctor’s Orders

We’ve had some beautiful spring weather lately. One day when the kids got all their schoolwork done early, they asked if they could go out to the island.

About this island: we have a low spot in one of the pastures. Winter rains come and we end up with a pond. A small area in the middle of this seasonal pond – it can be walked to most of the year – makes the perfect kid-sized island so that my boys feel that they’re mighty explorers.

We have a very strict rule: no messing around near the pond without an adult present. When the kids asked if they could go to the island, they weren’t just asking if theycould go out to play. They were asking if I’d don boots and go for a mile-long walk, then stand around watching to make sure they wouldn’t drown.

Off we went. They made it out to the island and were having a great time. Then I heard, “Uh-oh! Grab it!” Whichever kid was responsible for pulling the boat up high enough that it wouldn’t float away… didn’t. The boys were stuck out there watching their boat drift off.

As luck would have it, the wind was blowing steadily in one direction. The boat came right to me and I was able to grab it, hop in, and row out to rescue my trapped adventurers.

Simple, right? Well, it wasn’t quite that easy to grab. Add in the fact that I was wearing a sling to try to rest my shoulder. My doctor said that even a little bit of time in the sling should help, but somehow I don’t think that catching a rowboat and paddling it around the pond was what my doctor had in mind when he said that I could take my arm out of the sling to do things!

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4 thoughts on “Interpreting Doctor’s Orders”

haha…this was great! I love your “island” ! It looks like a fun place for kids 🙂 Yes, the things we do for kids….I help straigten my daughter’s hair every morning before school. Sometimes its hard to grasp the straightening iron and squeeze it but I do it. It won’t be long where she doesn’t want me to fix her hair so I’m gonna enjoy this time :). Love this post!

There’s doctor’s orders, and then there’s life. Sometimes the two just don’t jive. While walking a mile might have been just fine, rowing a boat wasn’t, but leaving your boys on the “island” to practice real life survival tactics wasn’t fine, either. I bet you felt good you were able to handle dragging the boat to shore and rowing out to get them in spite of the rheuma, even if you’re paying for it now. Bravo, WS!

And by the way, what a beautiful spot that is! If I were a kid, I’d love it too.

Beautiful picture. There is a spot a bit like that at my parents’ place, in the middle of a wide part of a stream. Since there isn’t a boat, we wait until things dry out a bit and hop across to it on rocks and logs.

I’m glad you had such fun in the spring weather – and I’m even glad you didn’t quite follow the doctor’s orders. What’s life without a little rule-breaking now and then in the name of good fun?